Gérard Mercator (1512-1594) et les sciences occultes

Abstract

SUMMARY: That the Flemish cartographer Gerard Mercator was interested and engaged in studying the occult sciences, in particular natural magic, is testified by John Dee in the Preface of his Propaedeumata Aphoristica (London 1558, 1568), dedicated to Mercator. Dee met Mercator in Louvain in 1547 and they became intimate friends, both sharing the same passion for philosophy. Dee's preface may also indicate that Mercator's interests in occult philosophy were still very vivid in 1566.